The 2004 Reviews Section: King Prawn, Got The Thirst

KING PRAWN

GOT THE THIRST
GOLF/PLASTIC HEAD, 2003

Ska-Punk-Hip-Hop-Metal! Oh boy, that sounds so friggin' awesome! It doesn't sound like it would sound grating or forced at all! Why, if I don't like it I MUST BE A BAD MAN! HATERS OF KING PRAWN RAPE BABIES, PERFORM INCEST ON THEIR MOTHERS AND LIKE TO BURN THEIR FACES FOR FUN! WHY, IF I HATE GOT THE THIRST I MUST DRINK PAINT BY THE GALLONFUL AND RUN IN FRONT OF CARS REGULARLY!

Guess what, I do eat babies. I can't stomach Got The Thirst at all. The band's various elements just sound so forced and artificial. Got The Thirst has this whole mainstream quality to it, like Rage Against The Machine meets The Specials with a bit of Skunk Anansie flavour. Oh, and sometimes King Prawn will do these songs about marijuana. It just grates on my nerves. I'm sure some ska-punkers love this band and the guys at Kerrang! seem to teabag them often, so my opinion counts for naught. Still, I find the whole ska element to be at odds with Al Rumjen's raps and the metal/hip-hop element to be just added on. This is essentially the principle of anything I review post-2002: if it gives me a headache listening to it, I am not going to look for musical talent, heartfelt intelligent lyrics or anything else. That's not what music reviewing is to me, and hearing this band ape Rage Against The Machine while playing music to skank to just gives me a migraine.

Don't get me wrong, King Prawn is a tight band musically and the lyrics found on Got The Thirst are somewhat intelligent. Still..."Smoke Some Shit." Seriously, this sounds like a shitty novelty song and I wouldn't be surprised if "Smoke Some Shit" was the proposed breakout song, a desperate bid for mainstream acceptance. If it is, may I just say three syllables: Af-ro-man. Man's a minister now, apparently. Long story short, if I ever wanted to listen to ska-punk I'd rather listen to Mustardplug or Reel Big Fish. Me listening to ska-punk doesn't happen too often, so my point's almost moot. It's not like you're worried about what I think anyway, so go bugger off and suck some spliffs. Doper.

GOLF RECORDS
c/o Plastic Head Records Ltd
PO Box 6
Wallingford
Oxon
OX10 9DD
UNITED KINGDOM
http://www.golfrecords.co.uk/
[email protected]

KING PRAWN
PO Box 26340
London
N8 8WZ
UNITED KINGDOM
http://www.kingprawn.co.uk/
[email protected]